Read four hour work week by Tim Ferris, I found the questions he asks in the book helped regain some motivation and excitement in life.
Ask HN: How do you deal with loss of motivation?
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Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with loss of motivation?
#142Of course now everybody here in the comments is jumping at the line I need to find something with purpose,big money, and satisfaction. and telling you that you should STFU and go back to your job and learn to be content with what you have. Please be reminded that that's just people on the internet though. The thing is if you ask anything on the internet that sounds like "How can I be more successful / smarter / prett…
I'm in a similar boat. I'm just tired of working for other people. I was an athlete so I have it ingrained in my brain to always aspire to greatness. I'm stuck doing mostly boring web CRUD apps (new team, new project) where I was building complete automation systems with nearly full autonomy.
Unfortunately, the US isn't really a meritocracy. Leadership positions come from who you know more than what you know. If you don't feel like playing the dating game, start your own thing. You'll definitely not be bored.
Also, you could work for a small company where they don't really know what's going on. You need to earn trust with the ownership by solving easy low hanging fruit that really earns / saves money. Don't go too small and make sure the company is profitable / well funded / proven business model, otherwise you'll constantly be bailing water.
Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with loss of motivation?
#143Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's a lie to whom? And on what basis? I'm seriously starting to think this was a troll post. Here's why: - Entropy increases with time (body and muscle decay, etc) - Yet you clearly stated you are getting better each day OBJECTIVELY (lift weights, football, earning money, etc) And by the way... there is only the current day. Everything else is an idea/memory/abstraction - Then you say it is a lie that you are not mo…
Oh, I have goals. I want to get a gf again. What six primary fears? You're talking about something like I'm supposed to be aware of it. I googled it and different websites have different ones. I don't really fear anything. Maybe I should?
Fear of death.
Fear of ill health.
Fear of the loss of love.
Fear of poverty.
Fear of old age.
Fear of criticism.
If you only have 4 or 5 of the fears, then you are already ahead. Squash the rest.
----
I'm glad you admitted you want a gf. I purposefully left that out in my comments above, but we caught each other's vibe.
Wanting a gf also isn't specific. Children or intercourse, intimacy, etc are actually measurable.
Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with loss of motivation?
#144I would look first in rest and recovery. Go on a sunny relaxing beach sornwhere. Cuba is a good destination since its cheap, different and has poor Internet connection. Rest for at lest 10 days.
Additionally also look in good sleep (a good 6/7 hours per day) and adequate exercise. Sometimes people do too much exercise or not enough, as well as good nutrition. If you are not sure what kind of nutrition you should follow, Mediterranean diet is a good bet.
Lack of social support is a third direction. You should have close friends and family. Invite them often at home for dinner, cook, what about an afternoon of board games. Whatever people say, humans thrive on social contact. A beer with a good friend is also good. Don't just overdo the alcohol.
The final step is the work. Like social support, lack of motivation can be found in lack of communication. Talk around and discuss what you are doing and why. Invite smart people in your professional contacts for coffee. Tell them about what you are doing, ask what are their problems and what interesting things they are doing. Do this 2 or three times per week. Soon you will see opportunities or motivation
Good luck !
Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with loss of motivation?
#145Motivation is something I believe everyone struggles with from time to time. Some people don't even realize they lose it till it is to late. Others have so much to do they don't have time to be motivated.
Leadership position at companies are either earn through hard work at the company or proven track record at other companies. If you want leader position work your ass off for it. If everyone is dumb and not working on anything useful then it should be easy to move up the ladder.
Unless the job pulls you out of poverty, puts you in poverty, gets you out of a toxic environment, or takes you completely out of your comfort zone then it ain't going to be a life changing job. Doesn't sound like you went to Africa to save orphans.
Creating artificial challenges is to make you grow not really to motivate you. If you think just chasing a challenge will make you happy or motivated try it out. But maybe you need to find something that just makes you happy or excited. One guy I knew was making north of $200k a year working at the bank worked nights at a sushi restaurant. Sushi was his passion his motivation his happiness.
Typically you don't get a job with purpose, big money, and satisfaction right away. You get a job to pay the bills and learn. The next job is either to move up, move out, or you found something you passion about.
Right now sounds like you are finical stable, and if you got time to work out 4 times a week then you should have time to try new things. Try to find a hobby or something. Get as far out of your comfort zone as you can, and see what you like and love. Don't seek motivation let it find you.
Best of luck.
Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with loss of motivation?
#146Of course now everybody here in the comments is jumping at the line I need to find something with purpose,big money, and satisfaction. and telling you that you should STFU and go back to your job and learn to be content with what you have. Please be reminded that that's just people on the internet though. The thing is if you ask anything on the internet that sounds like "How can I be more successful / smarter / prett…
I second this advice.
Something else to add... I realized everything in life is simply a choice. I can choose to move along the path to getting whatever it might be that I want (no matter how painful or difficult it may or may not be), or I choose to do something else. Its when I dig deep and choose to follow my path, even when I don't want to, is when I realize that I can move the needle on my life. I guess what I'm saying is, consider that you might fear the commitment it would take to make the change. Confronting that feeling and making the change in spite of the fear might help you get where you want to be. YMMV.
Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with loss of motivation?
#147One thing I don't see mentioned is human relationships.
Let me guess, you're not married and have no kids?
:) People who aren't good socially, oftentimes try to put all their eggs in one basket (I'm gonna be so good at my job, that it'll fix everything else).
Life doesn't work like that. The problem is not purpose/money. It's satisfaction - that's only going to come when you no longer feel like everyone else is dumb :)
They may not be as good at you at work-stuff - I bet they don't go posting on a forum asking for self-help advice though. So who's really winning?
Not you. You have high IQ, low EQ.
The only solution is to fix that EQ.
One more thing - if you get to manage people, you'll be terrible as you are currently. So really, if you work harder and achieve management, you'll realize your EQ sucks, if you don't achieve it and go and try to make some friends, you'll realize your EQ sucks.
Which's another way of saying life will fix your 'loss of motivation' one way or another :)
Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with loss of motivation?
#148Honestly with your viewpoint and attitude, you shouldn't yet be in a position to make life changing decisions at a company. It's not a bad thing, but I suspect you're young and eager but you're not really mature enough for the next step.
It will work out with time and experience. Patience is one of those things you gotta learn before you're ready for that next step.
If you're a developer, get involved in some open source projects and contribute. You'll find people better than you and you'll learn from that and hone your skills.
Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with loss of motivation?
#149I've thought about work and motivation a lot. A few quick points:
1. A friend of mine came up with a formula for motivation at work that you can say in one sentence. I love it because it's both simple and powerful: "People want to be a significant member of a winning team on an inspiring mission." You want to feel that you matter. You want to feel you have a chance at success. You wan't to feel your work makes a difference.
Trouble comes when any of those needs aren't met. It sounds like you don't feel that you are allowed to significantly contribute and it sounds like you don't feel your team is set up for success. I don't know if you would ever be inspired by the company's mission. In my experience, no amount of salary will ever compensate for the absence of any of the three above.
2. Even in a job that meets all three of those needs, motivation waxes and wanes. Work that matters is always challenging and you go through streaks and slumps. Here's something I've learned that's interesting and really freeing: Forget the insane amount of ink that's been dedicated to motivational coaching and repeat this: "You don't have to be motivated to start." You just don't. Set a timer for 30 minutes, set the existential stuff aside for a moment (it feels really good), and start. Just 30 minutes. This is powerful because you'll see the chicken and the egg of it all: Sometimes you are motivated to start. But sometimes starting in makes you motivated. (I'm amazed at how often I ignore the timer going off at the end and just keep working.)
Good luck with it! I hope you find your purpose and satisfaction. The big money is nice while you can get it, but it never serves as a replacement involvement in real, meaningful work.
Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with loss of motivation?
#150"I need to find something with purpose,big money, and satisfaction." I think you need to be more realistic, sorry but you sound a bit like a child, everybody is dumb and doing useless things except you the little snow flake who comes to save the world and will be a billionaire if only he was recognized.
I didn't read that at all in that statement. Where did you get everything about the special snowflake?